A crime scene van was parked on Vine Street near the rear of the restaurant for several hours Thursday morning and into the afternoon as detectives went through evidence inside the building and carried some outside.

Fay, who heads the department’s Problem Oriented Police Unit, said the unit has investigated Rodriguez over a few months and conducted a sting operation that included selling Rodriguez items he believed were stolen.

Police also called in the city’s Health Department and Fire Marshal’s Office because of the condition of the restaurant.

Health officials suspended Rodriguez’s food service license because of the conditions, including rotting food, household appliances and living quarters not properly separated from the restaurant area, and the amount of trash outside the building, according to Health Officer Heidi Peek.

The conditions were bad enough to warrant an immediate license suspension, Peek said, which officials can do when they find a “substantial hazard to the public health.”

Joseph G. Cote can be reached at 594-6415 or jcote@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow Cote on Twitter (@Telegraph_JoeC).